2000
#14,885
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,824
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.68
Rare Last name
Losee
Derived from a French place name meaning "the enclosed place," likely referring to a walled or fenced area.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,137 Americans carry the last name Losee. That puts it at #15,179 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.62 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 160,390 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Losee surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
2.1K
1 in 160,390
Census rank
#15,179
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,864 bearers of the surname Losee in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.62 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 15179th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Losee, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.1%) and Two or More Races (2.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Losee
The surname LOSEE originated in France during the medieval period. It is derived from the Old French word "losange," which means a rhombus or diamond shape. This shape was commonly used in heraldry, and the name likely referred to someone who bore this symbol on their coat of arms or was associated with its design.
In the 12th century, records show the name being spelled as "Lozange" or "Losange" in various regions of northern France, particularly in Normandy and Brittany. It is believed that the name may have been initially given as a nickname or occupational surname to individuals involved in the production or use of rhombus-shaped objects, such as armorers or stonemasons.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Fécamp Cartulary, a collection of charters and deeds from the Abbey of Fécamp in Normandy, dated around 1180. This document mentions a "Willelmus Losange" who was a landowner in the region.
During the 13th and 14th centuries, the name began to spread throughout France, with variations in spelling such as "Losenge" and "Lozenge." In 1296, a "Jean Losenge" was recorded as a resident of Paris in the city's tax records.
The LOSEE surname made its way to England during the Norman Conquest in the 11th century when many French nobles and their families settled in various parts of the country. One notable figure was Robert Losee (c. 1120-1185), a Norman knight who served under King Henry II and was granted lands in Hertfordshire.
Another early record of the name in England comes from the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire in 1198, which mentions a "Willelmus de Losee" who owed taxes to the Crown.
In the 16th century, the surname began to be anglicized to its current spelling of "LOSEE." One of the earliest examples of this can be found in the parish records of St. Mary's Church in Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, where a "John Losee" was christened in 1562.
Over the centuries, the LOSEE name has been associated with several notable individuals, including:
1. Sir Thomas Losee (c. 1570-1647), an English lawyer and politician who served as a Member of Parliament for Southwark.
2. Pierre Losee (1615-1686), a French mathematician and astronomer known for his contributions to the field of celestial mechanics.
3. Elizabeth Losee (1694-1768), an English poet and translator whose works were published in various anthologies of her time.
4. John Losee (1718-1795), an American Revolutionary War soldier who fought in the Battle of Bunker Hill.
5. William Losee (1786-1861), a Methodist minister and pioneer of the church in Canada, known for establishing several congregations in Ontario.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Losee
Among Census respondents with the surname Losee, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.1%) and Two or More Races (2.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Losee bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Losee surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.7% · 1,727
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 57
- Two or more races2.7% · 50
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 13
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 9
- Black or African American0.4% · 8
Timeline
Historical Census data for Losee
Losee appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#14,794
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,006
+182 bearers (+10.0%)
Per 100,000 0.68
Rank movement Up 91 places
2020
#15,179
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,864
-142 bearers (-7.1%)
Per 100,000 0.62
Rank movement Down 385 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #14,885 | 1,824 | 0.68 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #14,794 | 2,006 | 0.68 | +182 bearers (+10.0%) | Up 91 places |
| 2020 | #15,179 | 1,864 | 0.62 | -142 bearers (-7.1%) | Down 385 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Losee surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #14,794 | #15,179 | -2.6% |
| Count | 2,006 | 1,864 | -7.1% |
| Per 100K | 0.68 | 0.62 | -8.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Losee bearers went from 2,006 to 1,864 (-7.1% change). The surname moved down 385 positions in the national ranking, going from #14,794 to #15,179.
FAQ
Losee surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Losee?
Name Census estimates that about 2,137 living Americans carry the surname Losee. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 160,390 residents.
How common is Losee?
Losee ranks #15,179 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.62 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 1,864 people with the surname Losee. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,137), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.62 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.62 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Losee.
Has Losee become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Losee went from 2,006 recorded bearers to 1,864. That is a decrease of 142 (-7.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #14,794 to #15,179.
What does the Census say about the background of Losee?
Among Census respondents with the surname Losee, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.1%) and Two or More Races (2.7%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Losee in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.7% (1,727 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Losee appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.7%), Hispanic (3.1%), Two or More Races (2.7%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Losee (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Losee mean?
Derived from a French place name meaning "the enclosed place," likely referring to a walled or fenced area. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Losee (0.62 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people have the surname Losee?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.